Washington High School students returned safely to their homes yesterday afternoon, after a day spent on high alert due to threats of violence.

Early Friday morning, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of a threat on social media, varying from a vague threat of violence to a threat of someone bringing a firearm to the school, according to Chief Deputy Charlie Rose.

As of Friday afternoon, Rose said the sheriff’s office had not found any of the threats to be credible.

An increased presence of law enforcement was on the scene for the duration of the school day after receiving calls from concerned parents this morning, he said.

“We did have presence throughout the school for the entire day, but that’s just really a standard protocol,” Rose said.

After parents began signing out students for the day, Beaufort County Schools issued an alert to parents to inform them of the situation and let them know they had the option to sign out their child, he said.

Sarah Hodges, public information officer for Beaufort County Schools, said rumors that the school was on lockdown were false, and the increased law enforcement was not due to any present danger but rather a precaution.

She said Superintendent Don Phipps traveled back and forth from Washington High Friday morning to keep tabs on the situation.

Rose said the sheriff’s office doesn’t have any plans for an increased presence at the school in the coming days, although there will be if the need arises.

Washington High School was not alone in handling the possible threat. Other schools across the state dealt with similar threats on Friday, stemming from social media.

“There was nothing that we could find that could lead us anywhere,” Rose said. “We were never able to substantiate anything.”

 

Vail Stewart Rumley contributed to reporting.